Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull, an enhanced motion vehicle dark ride based on the Indiana Jones films, opened September 4, 2001 at Tokyo DisneySea theme park in Chiba, Japan. (It is not to be confused with the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was developed and released after the attraction's opening.) Guests accompany intrepid archeologist Dr. Indiana Jones on a turbulent, high-speed adventure through a dangerously lost temple aboard modified military transport vehicles. Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye, which opened in 1995, is a similar attraction within Adventureland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. History Because of the success of Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida, George Lucas decided to join forces with Disney in creating a new attraction for Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. Unlike the previous collaboration, Temple of the Forbidden Eye attraction was created with a backstory "set in the Lost Delta of India, circa 1935". Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull is the seventh collaboration between Disney and Lucasfilm, after the Disney attractions Captain EO, Star Tours, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!, Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril, Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye and ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. . Groundbreaking began for Disneyland's Temple of the Forbidden Eye in August 1993. More than 400 Disney Imagineers worked on its design and construction, with a core team of nearly 100, with Tony Baxter as the project lead. Imagineers tested key show elements in a warehouse on a full-sized elevated ride track that resembled a freeway. This enabled the team to test set pieces, lighting, effects, ride clearances and motion profiles. Disney filed for a patent on the ride system November 16, 1995, and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye debuted in Disneyland on March 3, 1995. The attraction proved enormously popular, and Disney's Imagineers began work on a similar version for Tokyo DisneySea. Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull opened September 4, 2001. Story The adventure is set in the area of the park called Lost River Delta, which represents an unspecified location in South America. Indiana Jones is looking for the Fountain of Youth in an Aztec temple guarded by the Crystal Skull. While the name is similar to that of the [[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull|fourth Indiana Jones film]], the design of the titular skull is entirely different and the scenarios in the attraction are unrelated to that film. Queue The Temple of the Crystal Skull building exterior resembles a large Aztec pyramid and temple, set in the South American port "Lost River Delta" at Tokyo DisneySea. The design is influenced by ancient South American architecture and art. There is a large room in the first pyramid with elaborate, South American-inspired frescoes on the walls; skeletons litter the floor around the queue walkway. The queue subsequently passes through a series of smaller, intricately themed chambers. Paco, a South American tour guide, hosts a black-and-white safety film, which plays on a continuous loop. Vehicle Guests board an Enhanced Motion Vehicle (EMV) intended to appear as a battered military troop transport. EMV's are driven by neoprene filled tires (for operational precision) with brushless DC motors in the wheel hub atop the surface of a slotted roadbed. Beneath the slot, a tubular guideway guides both front and rear wheelsets. Each transport can accommodate twelve guests with three rows of seats, four across, with the front left seat behind non-operational steering wheel, brake and throttle pedals. Each troop transport is a motion simulator which travels no faster than atop a slotted roadbed/guide rail track. The transport car body is attached by three linear induction motors to the frame of the chassis, allowing the shell to articulate independently. A guest's physically intense experience is programmed to achieve the illusion of greater speed and catastrophic mechanical failure using the enhanced-motion vehicle's ability to add several feet of lift then rapidly descend, shudder and tremble, and intensify cornering with counter bank and twist. The ride system invented for the Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull has previously been implemented using three hydraulic rams in the other two attractions —— Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye and DINOSAUR (opened as CTX: Countdown to Extinction), located at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. However, the Japanese version uses linear-inductive actuators instead of three hydraulic rams because the 35 gallons of hydraulic fluid used on the Disneyland version takes two hours to clean up the track when a hose splits. Because of Japan's environmental codes regarding oil spills, the design team elected to substitute electromagnetic actuators on the ride vehicle. Three of these actuators are used to create a three-dimensional (pitch, roll, and elevation) motion platform on which the car body sits. Adventure Chamber of Destiny Everyone is seeking the Fountain of Youth. There is a single carved door with pools of water to the side, complemented by mist and what appears to be endless hallways. Hall of Promise All guests enter the same hallway, seeking the Fountain of Youth. This single hallway contains effects from all three variations seen in “Forbidden Eye”: fiber optic stars, statues holding glowing treasure, and water effects. At the end of the hall awaits the Crystal Skull. It glows demonically, signaling that the journey is about to take a turn toward the Gates of Doom. Tunnel of Torment The transport momentarily appears to head toward an exit, before making a sharp turn into a large corridor. Lightning flashes along the walls, illuminating large cobra statues overhead as the transport seems to "float" through the room using the EMV technology. Gates of Doom The Gates of Doom pulsate with green mist and has Indiana Jones struggles to keep the doors closed. Jones, speaking in Japanese, scolds the tourists for looking into the eyes of the Crystal Skull and instructs them to proceed up the steps to the left. The triumphant musical theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark is heard as the transport accelerates up the flight of stairs. Main Show Building Blues and greens are the colors that fill this room. There is a large tornado effect near the bridge. The eye of the large skull is crystal and emits lasers and other interesting lighting effects. Mummy Chamber The transport turns left and enters another chamber filled with skeletons, some of which pop out toward the guests. Bug Room Suddenly, all is dark; the music tinkles with chaotic violin pizzicatos. The transport's headlights flicker on, illuminating walls swarming with thousands of beetles. Hissing sounds are heard, and riders are blasted with puffs of air. The Rope Bridge The transport finally heads out of the darkness and onto the bridge which spans the pit. The transport stalls for a moment as another oncoming jeep can be seen across the pit, but it turns out of the way before reaching the bridge. The transport then accelerates across the bridge which sways and jostles under its weight. The massive stone effigy shoots beams from its eye at the bridge, attempting to destroy it. The transport safely makes it across and makes a right turn. Snake Temple Thousands of snakes line the walls and ground and a gigantic audio-animatronic version of the Mesoamerican deity Quetzalcoatl, with glowing red eyes, appears to the right of the vehicle, striking at the riders. Mud Slide The transport heads back to return across the rope bridge and flashes its headlights at an oncoming transport about to cross. The transport turns sharply to the right entering behind the giant stone skull. The transport slides past hundreds of human skulls which decorate the walls, as the crystal skull on a plinth radiates light. Turning left, out of the massive stone effigy, the transport continues downward, passing under the rope bridge. Face Room A carved skull-like face is on the wall in front of the vehicle. The vehicle pauses for a moment and a fireball large ring of harmless orange colored smoke suddenly emerges from the face's mouth, heading straight towards the vehicle. The vehicle swerves to the right driving through the smoke and on to the next corridor. Dart Corridor A hall lined with sculptures of gaping skulls along the walls. The vehicle lurches forward over the pressure plates on the floor activating the booby trap. From the mouth of each skull shoots a dart jets that emit sudden swift puffs of air. The transport rolls to the end and makes a sharp right into the Boulder Room. Rolling Boulder Indy hangs from a vine above. As the transport pulls up underneath him he shouts JapaneseOne of several phrases cautioning the riders. As the boulder rolls towards the transport and falls, the transport plunges and a photograph of the entire car of riders is taken. The photograph may be purchased after the ride. Finale The transport drops suddenly, then turns right sharply in a dark tunnel and comes out to see Jones standing in front of the crushed boulder. Jones wipes his forehead and says one of several pre-recorded phrases. A final triumphant refrain of the music ushers the guests back into the station. While waiting to disembark, the mobile radio transceiver announces one of several "please remain seated" messages. Music In addition to dialogue and sound effects, an orchestral soundtrack plays through the speakers built into the troop transports. This medley contains segments of John Williams' original scores for the first three Indiana Jones movies, rescored and re-recorded to sync up with the perils of the adventure. Richard Bellis was responsible for this adaptation process.http://www.theraider.net/information/attractions/forbiddeneye.php The Raiders' March and Ark theme both feature prominently at various points. The following list is a breakdown of the different passages heard in the attraction and the track times at which the original versions can be found on the soundtracks for the films. * Chamber of Destiny: "The Map Room: Dawn" 3:28 (Raiders of the Lost Ark) * Hall of Promise ** Initial approach ** After looking into Mara's eyes: "The Map Room: Dawn", 2:25 (Raiders of the Lost Ark) * Tunnel of Torment: "The Miracle of the Ark", 3:31 (Raiders of the Lost Ark) * Gates of Doom: "The Desert Chase", 1:19 (Raiders of the Lost Ark) * Main Show Building: new arrangement of the Ark theme—see "The Miracle of the Ark", 2:41 (Raiders of the Lost Ark) * Mummy Chamber: "Nocturnal Activities", 3:28 (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) * Bug Room ** "In the Idol's Temple", 0:35 (Raiders of the Lost Ark) ** "The Well of Souls", 0:22 (Raiders of the Lost Ark) * The Bridge: new arrangement of the Ark theme—see "The Miracle of the Ark", 2:41 (Raiders of the Lost Ark) * Snake Temple: "Slalom on Mt. Humol", 0:28 (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) * Mudslide: "Belly of the Steel Beast", 2:39 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) * Skull Room ** "Slalom on Mt. Humol", 0:15 (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) ** "The Mine Car Chase", 1:06 (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) * Face Room ** "Bug Tunnel and Death Trap", 1:44 (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) ** "Slalom on Mt. Humol", 0:49 (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) * Dart Corridor: "Bug Tunnel and Death Trap", 2:18 (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) * Rolling Boulder ** "The Basket Game", 3:51 (Raiders of the Lost Ark) ** "Fast Streets of Shanghai", 2:50 (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) * Finale ** "Flight from Peru", 1:18 (Raiders of the Lost Ark) ** "The Raiders' March", 2:21 (Raiders of the Lost Ark) A variety of standard pieces from the 1930s can be heard from a radio in the outdoor queue. Furthermore, original percussion tracks can be heard subtly in the indoor pathways of the queue and exit. Faint snippets of the Raiders' March rise occasionally from the background. References Category:Indiana Jones Category:Rides